Man checks weeks-old Powerball ticket, discovers it's worth $136 million

One Staten Island man just got the surprise of a lifetime — and it's all because his truck broke down.

Anthony Perosi, a 56-year-old plumber, was trying to come up with a way to finance his truck repairs when he remembered leaving a Powerball ticket in his basement. The ticket stayed untouched for six weeks, but Perosi hadn't thought much of it — he played the same five numbers twice a week for years. A friend told Perosi someone had won the March 14 Powerball, so he never checked his ticket from the drawing.

But when his truck broke down, Perosi decided to dig into the pouch where he'd stored the ticket, thinking he might have won a few dollars to help with the repairs. When Perosi checked the ticket online, he found out it was worth much more than some petty cash — $136 million.

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"I tried to breathe in, and nothing would go in," Perosi told The New York Times. "I thought I was having a heart attack, and my heart stopped. So I grabbed the ticket, figuring they would find it in my hand."

Perosi told the Times he plans to use the money to buy a new car and to see more of New York state. He is splitting the winnings 70-30 with his son, Anthony III.